Monday, December 17, 2007

Recently, a software games company in Brisbane, Australia, called Auran, announced that it has called in the administrator and a large number of staff laid off. Among the somber news of a collapsing company, several revealing comments from its Chief executive in explaining the collapse that should serve as a real-life evidence to support principles that have been widely known in software engineering text book, but conveniently ignored by many:

"Certainly we spent far too much developing the game. We spent $15 million and basically it came down to too much rework . . . and even then we didn't get it quite right in the end," he said.

"If you overspend creating your product and you run out of money and you release it unfinished you end up closing your studio down."

Let this be edged in any manager's mind and as a warning beacon when he/she is tempted to rush out product with a naive invincibility that he/she can come back to fix them up later.